The Fantastic World of Oingo Boingo

Oingo Boingo is an oddity in the history of American music. They pushed the envelope and defied genre conventions for over a decade, but they never achieved sustained mainstream success in the way that many of their contemporaries did. Maybe it was the strange content of the lyrics (“I love little girls, They make me feel so good”) or the fact that they never had much of a consistent sound, bouncing from New Wave to ska, punk, and alternative rock. But what they lacked in success, they more than made up for in exciting music, creative to the point of absurdity.

The band, led by Danny Elfman, who went on to become a very successful film composer for the likes of Tim Burton and Sam Raimi as a result of his involvement in the band, is a joyously ridiculous celebration of musical creativity. Songs range lyrically from an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau to what you get up to when you’re alone to how this guy just wants to make “violent love to you”. From covers to original songs, they never lacked originality or a sharply satiric voice, and with that, I’m going to attempt to rank their studio albums from worst to best (or more accurately, my least favorite to my favorite). I’m not including their self-titled EP from 1980 (which contains their excellent cover of Willie Dixon’s Violent Love), nor their live albums or pseudo-live album Boingo Alive. That being said, you should check out those albums, and all of their work to be quite honest. Alright, here we go, starting with:

8. Boingo (1994)

None of their albums are bad, by any means, but if push came to shove,  this would be the album I would have scrapped from their discography. It’s not very much like their other music, which isn’t inherently a bad thing, but it takes some getting used to. This is a dark, oppressive record, with no sign of the signature horns and pomp of Oingo Boingo’s heyday. They’re replaced with heavy guitars and some complex instrumentation (along with the haunting chants of children). This is possibly their most overtly political work, less satirical in the vein of Only a Lad and more direct in its jabs, as well as their longest- songs seldom last less than five minutes, and the album closer Change is over fifteen minutes long. Much of this album seems to take cues from Elfman’s scoring work, and while it’s certainly an interesting listen, it isn’t exactly essential. Kudos to the excellent opening track Insanity and the snarky follow-up Hey!.

A million years of evolution, we get Danny Quayle…

7. Boi-ngo (1987)

Again, not bad, but certainly not entirely up to snuff, either. There are signs of the classic   Oingo Boingo sound that their fans love, but there are also a lot of synth grooves and less actual instrumentation. That being said, there are some true gems on this album, from the slinky, spooky opener Home Again to the incredibly fun Not My Slave. The true standout is the beautiful and oddly sentimental track We Close Our Eyes, a song that truly makes me smile out of sheer sweetness. This album, more than anything, is bogged down by the use of popular musical production of the time, thus suppressing the more creative aspects of Oingo Boingo’s sound.

If we don’t try too hard, we might start falling in love…

6. So-Lo (1984)

Not technically an Oingo Boingo album, but it was recorded with the entire band, and only labelled as a Danny Elfman solo album because of some kind of record label dispute (the band was transitioning from A&M Records to MCA). This album is a lot more poppy than their previous albums, but it has a sound that truly is unique in the Boingo discography. The opener Gratitude and Cool City are two very cool tracks. I’m also fond of It Only Makes Me Laugh. This places above Boi-ngo more so because of the diverse instrumental experimentation, a signature of the band at this point.

If you’re high, you’re in the right place- Cool City…

5. Dark at the End of the Tunnel (1990)

A guilty pleasure. This is often ranked towards the bottom of their discography, and wasn’t greeted with overly positive reviews upon its release, as this album does deviate somewhat from the energetic, sarcastic, and bombastic sound that helped put the band on the map a decade earlier. That being said, there are still some great uses of horns and the guitar work is phenomenal on tracks like Long Breakdown and Flesh N’ Blood. The opening When the Lights Go Out is creepy and dark to the max, with the signature Elfman growl guiding it through that instrumental darkness. There’s even an inspirational track in Try to Believe, another one that’s so sappy I can’t help but grin when listening. The standout track is Skin, a brooding examination in identity that has some real lyrical depth.

This is someone else’s story, someone that I never knew…

4. Nothing to Fear (1982)

More of the same, if a little more polished. As a follow-up to their LP debut Only a Lad, this serves as a fine evolution of their sound, not abandoning the sardonic goofiness of their previous album while still finding some new territory to explore. The title track has some real heavy synth chords, and the opener Grey Matter is quite the groovy song. Insects is an overtly experimental track, filled with buzzing, almost annoying sounds and guitars. Private Life is an almost pathetic track lyrically, describing a man who is entirely isolated, but it has some really great vocal work and instrumentation. Wild Sex (In the Working Class) is the best of the album, combining horns, guitar, and great lyrics to maximum effect.

Watching the gears as they move just reminds me of bodies in motion…

3. Dead Man’s Party (1985)

The commercial peak for the band, this features two songs featured in major motion pictures (Weird Science, which I actually am not a fan of, and the title track, which was featured in Rodney Dangerfield’s Back to School). Their sound is more commercialized here, but the Dia de los Muertos themes allows for the horns to return with a vengeance, especially in the fantastic No One Lives Forever, possibly the most joyous song about the eventuality of death and how suddenly it may come ever recorded. One of, if not, their best song ever. Stay is a catchy ballad, Just Another Day is a pretty fun opener, and Same Man I Was Before sounds like the bastard child of a Duran Duran and Dead or Alive song in the best possible way. Dead Man’s Party, both the album and the song, are great, if only because they make the turn the fear of death and the unknown into one big celebration. That, and it’s got an incredible chorus.

We’ve only got so many tricks, no one lives forever…

2. Only a Lad (1981)

As good a debut as any band has ever put out, in my opinion. It instantly establishes who Oingo Boingo is as a band, and does so with such youthful pomp and sarcasm that it’s almost impossible not to jam along. The musical variety is incredible. The band was labeled new wave with this record, and compared often to Devo as a result of their experimental sound, but I wouldn’t really call them new wave. Oingo Boingo is unclassifiable. This album lets the audience know as much. Little Girls is an understandably misunderstood song, or even one that is disliked because it is understood, but lyrically, it must be taken with the grain of salt that is Danny Elfman’s incredible knack for satire and irony. Nasty Habits is an incredible song about masturbation for Christ’s sake, filled with instrumental and vocal variety, as well as an opening groove that sounds a lot like Elfman’s eventual score for The Simpsons. The title track is great, and Controller is up there, too. There are no bad songs on this album, and you’re doing yourself a disservice not listening to, if only to experience the truly unique sound that is Oingo Boingo.

Make sure the neighbors are without suspicion, no one will know…

1. Good for Your Soul (1983)

Here we are at the top. Objectively speaking, this is almost never considered their greatest album. It isn’t the most original- that would be Only a Lad or Nothing to Fear. It isn’t even the most consistent- that would be Dead Man’s Party. What this album does have is a handful of astronomical highs for the band, in my opinion, songs that are so good that it would be a disservice to them to rank this album any lower. The opening trifecta of songs is great. Who Do You Want to Be? is a ska-influenced track that exudes energy and that signature wit. Good For Your Soul is a poppy gem. And the third track, No Spill Blood, is possibly my favorite song the band has ever made. It’s a heavy rocker, with brash horns and animalistic shouts, call and response between Elfman and band, and a menacing hook. Based on The Island of Dr. Moreau, this song is truly one of a kind. Sweat is a blistering, exhausted take on pressure filled with wonderful brass instrumentation, and a truly captivating vocal delivery of the chorus (where did they goooo?). Even the more absurd songs are surprisingly catchy and well-made, like the Orwell-inspired Wake Up (It’s 1984). Finally, Pictures of You is a deceptively simple piano-driven song that grips you with the lyrics and tapping of just a few keys. This album is possibly the most musically diverse of the band’s entire catalogue, changing from ska to reggae to metal and rock. It’s truly one of a kind, and a fantastic record.

What is the law? No spill blood…

Top 10 Songs (in no particular order)

1. Nasty Habits
2. Violent Love
3. Wild Sex (In the Working Class)
4. No Spill Blood
5. Who Do You Want to Be?
6. No One Lives Forever
7. Dead Man’s Party
8. We Close Our Eyes
9. Sweat
10. Only a Lad

Oingo Boingo has gone from an unknown to one of my most beloved bands over the span of, like, a month, and I have to thank Chason for that. He knows the good good. Unfortunately, the band disbanded in the mid-90s as a result of Elfman pursuing his scoring career, so we’ll never get to see them live. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and if you check out their music, let me know what you think down below. It’s been a while since a band made me feel this excited about their entire catalog.